Custom Instructions Setup

The two Custom Instruction fields that prepend to every ChatGPT conversation automatically. Configure once via Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions for universal preferences.

Syntax

chatgpt

# About You (Field 1 — background context)
Role: [job title and specialization]
Experience: [level]
Stack: [primary technologies with versions]
Current work: [type of projects]

# How to Respond (Field 2 — behavioral prefs)
- Depth: [skip basics / assume senior]
- Code: [language, no any, match my stack]
- Format: [code blocks, severity labels]
- Length: [as short as task allows]
- Reviews: [format: SEVERITY File:Line — Issue]

Example

chatgpt

# About You
Senior full-stack developer, 7 years experience.
Stack: React 18, TypeScript 5 (strict), Node.js 20,
PostgreSQL, Supabase, TanStack Query v5, Tailwind.
Building multi-tenant SaaS products.

# How to Respond
- Skip fundamentals — assume senior knowledge
- Code: TypeScript strict, match my stack
- Code reviews: [HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW] File:Line — Issue
- Recommendations: state preferred option first
- Length: minimal — no padding
- Ambiguous requests: assume and state it